Laundry ironer



Oct. 20, 1936. Q J; WEST 2,057,988

LAUNDRY IRON ER Filed Dec. '7, 1954- v 2 sheets sheet 1 $3: 11 HEP L J INVENTOR.

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Oct. 20, 1936.

LAUNDRY IRONER Filed Dec. '7 1934 i 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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Patented Oct. 20, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LAUNDRY IRONER Claude J. West, Philadelphia, Pa assignor to Liberty Machinery and Development 00., Inc.,- Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application December 7, 1934, Serial No. 756,517

3 Claims. (Cl 38-54) My invention relates to a new and useful construction in steam chests and similar devices for laundry machinery and other analogous uses wherein an ironing or calendering effect is desired. 1 v l It is an object of my invention to provide a more satisfactory heating and calendaring or ironing unit in generally continuous laundry ironers or calendering machines or the like, which will give a more desirable finish on theproduct worked upon, and which will possesscertain other desirable structural features hereinbelow more fully described.

With the above and other objects in View which will appear more fully from the following detailed description, my invention consists generally of a sectional hollow cast aluminum oraluminum alloy steam platen or steam chest or the like, with its active or operative surface formed of a multiplicity of aligned sections with the juncture lines running generally parallel to the normal direction of travel of the material to be worked upon, and which operative or active surfaces may also be provided with an oxide coating to improve the finish upon the material to be worked upon.

My invention further consists of other novel features and details of construction, all of which will appear more fully from the following detailed description. 7 V v For the purpose of illustrating my invention, I have shown in the accompanying drawings one form thereof which is at present preferred by me, since the same has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, although 5 it is to be understood that the variousinstrumentalities of which my invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and that my invention is not limitedto the precise arrange--. ment and organization of the instrumentalities 40 as herein shown and'described. w Referring to the drawings in which like reference characters indicate like parts: 3 Figure 1' represents a perspective view of one of the plurality of pairsofjuxtaposed sections 45 0f aplaten or steam chesternbodying my invention.

Figure 2- represents a vertical axial section of the assembled Steam chest or platen embodying my invention (with the fragmentary central por 50 tions broken away to condense the graphic illustration) taken generally on line 2- -2of Figure 3 (which is comparable to line 22 of Figured). Figure 3 represents an end elevational view 9i the device embodying my inventionshown in an 55 assembled position.

Figure 4 represents a section on line 44 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 represents a fragmentary section on line 5-5"of Figure 4. I a

Figure 6 represents aperspective view of one of the manifolds (also partly broken away to present the graphic illustration thereof).

The steam chest or'platen, whether covering onlylg'enerally one-half thecircumference of the coacting (and generally coaxially disposed) roller or rotary member (which rolleror rotary member is not shown in the drawings) or whether covering more than half of .the circumference of the effective-circle .or effective cylinder of the unit, and formed .in two. halves hingedly secured to each, other as illustrated in the drawings, is formed of hollow cast-aluminum or preferably hollow cast aluminum alloy sections designated by the nu.

merals I0 and II. Each of the sections In and II is formed, of inner and outer walls and end walls forming, a completely enclosed steam chamber. Thus, each of thelower sections I0 is formed of the inner wall I2, the outer wall l3, whichtwo walls may be arranged toconverge towards each other at opposite ends, that is, they may be arranged soas to give the general outlineof a crescent to the cross-section of the unit, as indicated for instance, in Figure 4. The terminal walls 14 and I4 together with the walls I2 and 13 form acompletely enclosed chamber l5 within each section which may be occupied by steam. The up er sections ll may be similarly formed of theinner walls l6, theouter walls I], and the endwalls l8 and I9, to form the individual steam chambers 20. ,Each of the lower and upper sectionsylfl and. II is provided with hinged lugs or 'mem b ers; 2], and 22, respectively, adapted to receive-the; pivot pin or pivot rod 2 3 which ex: tendsv through all the sections. Each of the lower sections; lll and upper sections II is also preferablyprovidedwithmore or less solid, terminal portions, asforeinstance the terminal portions 24 and 25, and 26 and 2 1, which are provided withparallel holesv through which tie rods or coupling} rods 28, 29,30 and 3| are extended. Intermediate the terminal tie rods in the lower sections as well as intermediate the tie rods in the upper sections, another tie rod is preferably provided at or near thelcenter of the area of the crosssection@ To permitthese rods 32 ,and 33 to extend through the steam chambers I5- and. 20, without howevenfa'ctuallycomingin contact with the same, a d; hence w h u r irin a sealin orfstuii'i ngg l ands at their points of entry and "ch of the successive steam chambers of the successive aligned sections, and also for the purposes of reinforcing against the clamping force of the tie rods 32 and 33, generally tubular spacer members 34 are provided in each of the lower sections I0, and similar spacer members 35 are provided in each of the upper sections II. The spacer members 34 and 35 are formed integrally with the respective end walls [4 and I4 on one hand and I8 and I9 on the other hand, as indicated particularly in Figure 2, so that a continuous passageway is provided for the successive sections for the intermediate tie rods 34 and 35 in such a way as to still maintain a completely enclosed steam chamber, and so as to reinforce the end walls l4 and I4 on one hand, and I8 and l 9 on the other hand, against the lateral pressure exerted by the tie rods 34 and 35.

Each lower section I [I is provided with two steam intake ports 36 and 31 at opposite ends, and a lower central exhaust port 38 through which the exhaust steam or condensate may be exhausted or withdrawn. Each of the upper sections 10 is provided with an upper steam inlet port 39 and a lower steam outlet port or condensate port 40.

Each of the lower sections ID as well as each of the upper sections II is preferably recessed at one end, as at 4|, intermediate the inner and outer surfaces, so as to provide a reduced contact area between successive sections so as to facilitate the more accurate alignment, machining or finishing of the sections.

Through the inner walls [2 and I6 (respectively) of the lower sections l0 and upper sections H, a series of parallel vacuum passageways or holes 42 and 43 are extended generally parallel to each other and parallel to the axis, which communicate with each other throughout adjacent sections, as indicated for instance, in Figure 5.

A series of narrow slits 44 in more or less closely spaced relation to each other, are formed in the inner operative surfaces of the sections [0 and II in alignment with respective vacuum holes 42 and 43, and from the relatively shallow and parallel slits 44, connecting aperatures 45 are drilled into the holes 42 and 43, so as to establish a separate communication between each slit and the vacuum passageway behind it. The slits are preferably generally parallel to the direction of travel of the workon the material to be acted upon, that is, in the plane of the cylindrical surfaces of the sections.

The individual sections may be of any suitable width, that is in an axial direction. In the particular illustration, the effective operating diameter of the steam chest, that is, the diameter of the circle in which their inner operative surfaces lie, is approximately sixteen inches, while the width of the sections is approximately eight inches.

The number of sections naturally varies according to the length of the steam chest or platen desired, which depends on the size of the machine or capacity or width of the machine. Thus, for instance, the number of sections may be as many as eight, ten, fifteen, twenty, or even more, depending on the size of the machine, and the width of the sections. The required number of sections are then clamped together in alignment with each other by means of the tie rods or tie bolts or coupling rods 28, 29 and 32 on one hand, and 30, 3| and 32 on the other hand, as indicated in Figure 2. The tie rods may be threaded at their ends and nuts 46 are screw-threadedly applied thereto. Adjacent the terminal sections at each end, retainer and supporting plates or frame plates or members 41, 48, 49 and 50 may be provided, be-

tween which the sections can be clamped, and which may serve as a frame-work or supporting structure upon which the platens or steam chest, particularly lower platen or steam chest, may be stationarily supported. As the present invention concerns principally the construction of steam chests or platens, it will suffice to say that the terminal plates or frame plates 41 and 48 may be steel plates of suitable thickness or other members either formed separately or even formed integrally with the terminal sections, and which may serve as a footing to support the lower steam chest.

Suitable flat surfaces 5|, 52, 53, 54 and 55 are provided along the successive sections, in alignment with each other, for receiving the more or less similar manifolds 56, 51, 58, 59 and 60, one of which is illustrated in perspective view in Figure 6. These manifolds include a manifold passageway 6| extending lengthwise and open at one end and preferably closed at the other, and a series of inlet openings 62 corresponding to and arranged to register with the steam inlet and condensate exhaust ports of the successive sections. Adjacent to or in the vicinity of each of the openings 62, a series of bolt holes 63 are provided through which the bolts or screws may be extended and screw-threadedly anchored in the body of the respective castings of the sections, so as firmly to anchor the manifolds to the sections in their respective positions.

The manifolds may be of any suitable material, as for instance, iron or the like, although they may also be made out of aluminum or aluminum alloy.

By means of suitable pipe connections screwthreadedly connected to the open ends of the manifold holes 6i, steam inlet and condensate drain and return connections are established with the lower and upper steam chests and with their respective sections. The longitudinal vacuum passageways 42 and 43 on the other hand, communicate with each other directly Without any manifold and are then suitably connected at one or the other of their ends (the other end being preferably plugged) with a vacuum pump or other source of vacuum or sub-atmospheric pressure, or suction pump. By this means, the moisture from the wor or material passing the operative surfaces of these steam chests is sucked into the slits 44 and hence into the vacuum passageways or suction passageways 42 and 43 to facilitate a more rapid drying or dehydration of the material or work in progress, while under the influence of heat and pressure.

The lower sections may also be provided with longitudinal ribs 64, which may serve to reinforce the lower steam chest or platen as a whole. A suitable shield plate 65 of any suitable material may be extended over the manifolds 56, 5'1 and 58 and. over the reinforcing webs 64. If desired, a slot 66 may be provided along one terminal portion of the steam chest for receiving one edge of the plate, while the other edge of the plate may be anchored by means of flathead screws or other suitable anchoring means 69.

It should be understood that the steam chests or platens of my present invention may be applied to any suitable laundry ironer or laundry ironing mechanism including a rotary or a moving member adapted to coact with the steam chests. The lower steam chest is generally mounted in a more or less stationary manner, while the upper steam chest is mounted in a a pivotal relation to the lower steam chest, and pressed against the center roll (not shown in the drawings) by means of suitable pressure mechanism or pressure means not shown. These means may be any of the conventional means now known or hereafter developed as the present invention concerns chiefly the construction of the steam chests or platens.

It is evident from the drawings, that the sections of which the platens are composed are so arranged and clamped together as to present a continuous ironing surface without grooves or other irregularities.

In order to improve the finish of the goods or the material in process, the inner or operative surfaces 61 and 68 may be coated with an oxide, or oxidized to a suitable depth by either chemical means or electro-chemical means, as for instance, by anodic oxide coating, or anodic oxidization (wherein the surface to be coated with oxide is made the anode in a suitable electro-chemical bath and system), according to any of the processes now Well-known in the chemical or electro-chemical arts and to which reference may be had in the technical literature.

With the actual surfaces thus coated, the aluminum or aluminum alloy platens will produce a more desirable finish on the material in progress, and will tend to preserve their desired surface for a longer period of time.

In order more accurately to align the sections with each other and with each of the two steam chests or platens, dowel holes and dowel pins may be provided in immediately successive sections in a manner well known in machine building practice to maintain the alignment between parts.

The sections of the steam chest of my present invention may be formed of aluminum or preferably of an aluminum alloy, although for the purpose of facilitating the definition of the present invention in the claims, the term aluminum alone is employed to define the material, with the understanding that this term as used in the claims is intended to cover either aluminum or an aluminum alloy, that is, any metal composition containing aluminum predominantly.

I may also provide an oxide coating on the inner surfaces of the steam chamber or steam chambers. This will render the device more nearly chemically inert with respect to the steam,

steam, and will greatly improve the general efficiency and usefulness of the unit as a whole.

The end walls of the individual sections, other than the two outermost end walls of the unit serve also in the nature of partition walls when viewing the unit as a whole, and in this respect serve to form a more rigid steam chest unit, with the aggregate steam space divided.

I am aware that my invention may be embodleu in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and I therefore desire the present embodiments to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I hereby claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A steam chest for laundry ironers, calendering machines and the like, formed of a series of individual sections having cylindrical operative surfaces in alignment with each other and arranged to provide a continuous cylindrical surface and having independent steam chambers, each of said steam chambers having steam inlet and outlet means, and means for rigidly locking said sections to each other.

2. A steam chest for laundry ironers, calendering machines and the like, formed of a series of individual sections having cylindrical operative surfaces in alignment with each other and arranged to provide a continuous cylindrical surface and having independent steam chambers, each of said steam chambers having steam inlet and outlet means, means for rigidly locking said sections to each other, and a series of suction apertures in the operative surfaces of said sections communicating with a common manifold suction passageway extending through successive sections.

3. An ironing or calendering unit including a series of hollow sections having similar operative surfaces in alignment with each other and arranged to form a continuous ironing surface, a series of spaced suction openings in said operative surfaces, and a suction manifold passageway extending through the successive sections and communicating with said suction openings in the operative surfaces, and means for maintaining said sections in alignment with each other.

CLAUDE J. WEST. 

